Can't we Get Along?!

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Anime-Otaku12

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Dranai's acute sense of hearing could pick up faint noises. A noise he was all too familiar with. The sound of an arrow flying through the air to hit it's target. He didn't like that sound, much less the fact that he could hear it. Humans had been hunting his kind for generations. His parents always told him to stand his ground and never be afraid of humans. Dranai wasn't afraid of humans, he just knew that if he antagonized them, that his race, the dragons, would be no longer existent. He tuned out the sound of the arrow by going back to his research. He had searched and searched the books his parents left him about how to survive against the humans, but most of the books he read talked about how awful humans were. True, they were awful, but...if he could somehow befriend them, then they wouldn't look down on the dragon race!

Dranai began searching the books his parents had left him again and again, seeing if there was anything he missed. Flipping through the ancient dragon magic book, he came across a part in the book that was torn out. He had a feeling that this was the page he needed. Searching his whole cave, he finally found this torn off page amongst his fathers book entitled "Ancient Dragon Magic Book". Reading this page over, he had finally found what he needed in order to co-exist with humans. Looking at the page, it listed many of the ingredients necessary in order to make this magic work. Just as he was about to step out of his cave, however, he heard rustling in the distance. His hearing could pick up sounds up to 5 miles away. Yet this sound was very clear and loud. Didn't sound even 1 mile away. It was definitely less. Dranai's powerful frame tensed up, ready to strike at whoever or whatever threat faced him.
 
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Ekta had heard of this place. Her father, Bipin, had told her about it when she was a child. Said he'd come across it in his map-making days. He'd told her about the great beast that lived within. Her mother, Dharini, said it was just a tall tale that he spun to make an entertaining bed-time tale. 'Well Ma. Looks like you were wrong.' This place looked just as her father had described it, a medium-sized clearing leading up to a cave in the side of a cliff. There were many signs of a 'monstrous beast' here, namely the claw marks. She inspected these marks, and noted that they were old. At least two days old, maybe more. She jerked her head up when she heard rocks crumbling. Her eyes followed the trails of the dust and rocks that fell down the cliff-face, leading her to the big, yawning cave in the mountain.

She looked at the ground again, looking for any sign of where the beast went. 'Huh. Wherever it went, it's not here. Any tracks leading into the cave are old.' She stood up, taking one last long, careful look at the surrounding woods. Then she turned to the cave. 'I wonder what could be hiding in there... Better not take any chances that something will jump out at me.' She pulled her bow off her back, ready to shoot at anything that threatened her, and ventured forth towards the cave.
 
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Dranai's hearing picked up the sound of a string being pulled back. Someone was right outside his cave and he had a feeling it wasn't another dragon. He was the only dragon left in the whole world. Or so he had been told. He slowly crept out, trying to catch a peek of what was outside without startling whomever or whatever was on the recieving end of his ugly mug. Peeking out, he saw a human girl, quite a nice looking one, pointing a bow and arrow straight at him. He wasn't scared anymore. An arrow wouldn't even scratch him, much less kill him. Not unless she could shoot an arrow that could curve upward as she shot and hit him in the heart. He bore his sharp teeth, growling and his wings spread out. Humans were pretty easy to scare so he didn't need to do a lot to get them to leave him alone.

"Human...what are you doing here? What business do you have with me?"

A dragon's language was much more sophisticated and ancient. Compared to the humans language, it sounded beautiful. But he couldn't communicate with them if he were speaking his language. So he had to lower himself to using human language so they could understand him. He continued to bare his teeth and spread out his wings as he awaited the girl's answer.
 
Ekta slowly crept up towards the cave. She knew something was wrong when the ground started to shake. She dropped one knee to the ground, and aimed at the entrance of the cave. It didn't take long for the creature to draw itself out of the cave. 'Now, if you ever come across a dragon, never ever pull a weapon on it. Its hide is tougher than steel, and thicker than any leather you've ever seen. Even if you struck it with a thousand swords, and a thousand arrows, nary a scratch you would find.' Ekta remembered her father saying that. She was sure this was a dragon. It fit every description she had every heard. As it stalked closer, she lowered her bow, as she was sure it was useless. It was a breathless second until it bared its teeth and spread its wings. She about dropped the arrow into the dirt when it spoke, with a voice that was surely male.

"Human... what are you doing here? What business do you have with me?"

She gulped. "Uh... Well.. You see, I was hunting a deer, and he decided to run this way, for some reason, and it seems he crashed right through here," she gestured towards the broken branches on one side of the clearing, "And then I misread the tracks, see, so I thought whatever lived here ate it." She looked the dragon in the eyes, and then she raised her hands, one holding her bow, and said, "And I was curious about what could be in that cave, so I was going to look. 'Cause I thought its owner was gone. Who turns out to be you. But you're still here, so if I may, I'll just leave now." She made to stand, but ended up falling flat on her back. "AHH!"
 
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Dranai put his wings down and bore his teeth no more. He lumbered on over to the girl who had, without success try to stand and leave. He picked the girl up by the collar of her shirt and carried her inside his cave. Sitting her down on a rock, he laid down next to the rock.

"I want it to be clear right now, I never saw or heard any deer, much less eat one. I prefer cattle, pigs and sheep myself. I don't eat humans either so you don't have to worry...In fact...it is I that has to worry...about humans..." his face turned from that of anger to that of sadness. He stood up, looking the girl straight in the eye.
"For centuries, your kind has been fighting my kind, slaughtering them with no mercy...and because of that...I'm the very last Dragon to ever exist...But as fate would have it, I haven't developed a hatred for humans like my kind was always known for developing...I just want to peacefully co-exist with humans. But it seems I can't do that without becoming one. For a long time now I have been trying to find a way for me to change myself into a human...that way, dragons would be out of your kind's way and no one would suspect that I was actually a dragon at all...All attempts have been unsuccessful...I just don't know what to do now..."

He looked down at her, embarrassment showing on his scaly face.

"I'm sorry...I've talked your ear off and didn't even introduce myself. I'm Dranai Silpheed of the ancient lightning dragon race...What was your name?"
 
Ekta lay on the ground, in a daze because she hit her head on a hard patch of ground. It went away quickly enough that she could grab hold of her bow before the dragon lifted her off the ground. 'Huh. I wonder if this is what kittens feel like when their mother picks them up,' she thought as she was carried into the cave. She began to rub the back of her head at the dragon spoke. 'I suppose 'it' is a 'he'. So, he never saw the deer. Well, its not the first time I've tracked the wrong thing,' She placed her bow on the ground. 'And he doesn't eat humans. Cool- oh wait... I guess this isn't all that great, huh.' She tried to maintain eye contact, craning her neck back as the dragon stood. 'Why do humans do this kinda thing...' She felt sorry for him. She always guessed that this was what happened to the great myths of old. 'I can't imagine being the last of something is very fun...' She shifted into a more comfortable position on the rock, examining the dragon in more detail as her thoughts drifted off, running from her attempts to wrangle them. 'Wants to be human... I wonder what it's like to be a dragon. Oh, wait, he's a big dragon... What's it like to ride a dragon? He's still talking, shut up, stupid random thoughts!' She quickly tried to regain any composure she lost, but she felt it was a failure. 'So his name is Dranai. And he's a lightning dragon? Never heard of those. Sound cool though!'

"...What was your name?"

She stared at him for a second before she jerking up and replied, "Oh, my name's Ekta Guo, and I'm about 98% human. The other two percent is a mish-mash of any races my dad's family has had kids with over the centuries," She smiled and nodded, "It's nice to meet you Dranai. Do you mind if I just call you Dranai, or should I call you Dranai Sil-uh Silpheed?" She cocked her head slightly, and extended her hand, as if to shake hands. 'Wait, does he even know what shaking hands is? How would it work with... Paws? Yeah, paws as big as that.'
 
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"You may call me Dranai. That is fine..."

Dranai turned his head, confused at the gesture she was extending. He didn't know what to think of it. He took her hand anyway, it being 10 times bigger than her own. Lifting her up and in front of his face, he asked her his question.

"What does this extension of the hand mean to humans? I also mean to ask what do you mean that you are only 98% human? What other creatures are you mixed with?" Humans definitely were a lot more strange close up. He could really understand why they frustrated the other dragons he used to live with long ago.

He examined the girl up and down, trying to figure out what made a human a human...Did all humans look like this one? That wouldn't make sense...Was this similar to female dragons and male dragons? Were there female and male humans too? He guess that that would make sense.
He then remembered that humans couldn't be held upside down for very long. They were a lot more frail than dragons. He set her down gently.

"Forgive me, but I just remembered that you can't stay upside down very long...I am so very sorry...You are not hurt are you?"
 
"You may call me Dranai. That is fine..."

Ekta nodded in response, still holding her hand out. She smiled a little wider when he tilted his head, confused at her gesture. Or, what she thought was confusion. She didn't quite know. Then he grabbed her hand, albeit a bit awkwardly. Then she found herself in the air, hanging by her arm, as he asked her some questions.

"What does this extension of the hand mean to humans?"


"It's a greeting. Kinda like how some animals sniff each other, I guess." Ekta said, in a confused tone. She was still trying to figure out how she got up there.

"...What do you mean that you are only 98% human? What other creatures are you mixed with?"


"Um... I'm not all too sure. I mean, my dad's told me tales, but it's so obscure that no one tale is consistent with another." By this point, Dranai had somehow flipped her upside down without her noticing. "In some, it's mostly elf, in others it's mostly dwarf. I think it's mostly elf, or some other forest thing." She finally looked around, seeing that everything was upside down. "Hey, what happened here?" She noticed she could hear her heart beating, and her vision was blurry. "Huh... That's weird."

And then she was back on the ground. She found it impossible to sit up, so she flopped onto her side, and then rolled onto her back. Clenching her eyes shut, she held her head while she tried to control her breathing. It took a minute but she finally tuned back in to what Dranai was saying.

"sorry... You are not hurt, are you?"

"Huuh... I think I'm ok... Just give me a minute, I'll be fine..." She opened her eyes. Dranai was looking at her, with what looked like concern showing on his face. "Reminds me of that time I fell out of a tree... Heh, good times..." 'It just occurred to me that I am entirely too calm about this.'
 
Dranai smiled softly.

"I'm so glad your ok. That's a relief...Ekta was it? Have you ever seen a dragon besides me before?" Had this human encountered dragons before and that was why she was acting so calm? In fact, she didn't even seem afraid of him. He wondered why. Hearing some rustling out in the trees right outside his cave, he turned around, alert. He looked at Ekta.

"Hold that thought and stay here. I'll be right back.."

Dranai lumbered out of the cave, searching around for the sound he had heard. It was really close. Looking slightly to his right he spotted movement. Moving quickly, he shot a quick bolt of lightning at it and it moved no more. Walking over, he saw a corpse of a dead deer. Picking it up with his jaw ever so carefully, he brought it back inside the cave.

"Was this the deer you were hunting?" He set the big buck in front of her. He hoped this human girl wouldn't get annoyed from all his questions.
 
Ekta smiled back, and then rested her head on the floor.

"I'm so glad your ok. That's a relief..."

She couldn't help but chuckle at that, a dragon worrying about whether or not a human was hurt.

"Ekta, was it?" She nodded, "Have you ever seen a dragon besides me before?"

She was about to answer, but then Dranai whipped around to look at the clearing outside the cave. "Hold that thought and stay here. I'll be right back..."

Ekta propped herself up on one arm, and tried to see what he was doing, but she couldn't quite see past his large frame. She heard a zapping noise, and a few seconds later Dranai walked back over, carrying a deer in his jaws. He set it down and asked her a question, "Was this the deer you were hunting?"

She slowly stood up, and walked over to the buck. 'I'll have to flip it over... The arrow would have hit on the other side.' She moved the deer so it was lying on it's right side, and noted the wound behind the front leg. Inspecting the wound, it looked consistent with how she shot the buck. She looked back up at Dranai, and said, "Yep, looks like it. Oh, and to answer your other question, no, I've never seen a dragon before." She looked at the ground for a second, then she said, "I suppose the reason I'm not scared of you, is that you've had plenty of opportunities to kill me. And you seem like you'd be honest, given the situation."
 
Dranai smirked.

"That's a good sized buck you shot there. If it weren't already wounded, I probably wouldn't have been able to kill it so quickly...believe it or not....The size of my frame doesn't hide me well to hunt small creatures like that. They see me in a heartbeat....Whereas my size makes it harder to see them..." He sat down then layed down, kinda like a dog would. Lifting his head to see her face to face, he asked even more questions.

"You really haven't seen another dragon before? I thought there might be a chance...I don't like the idea of only me being the only existing dragon left in the whole world...That's why I want to change myself into a human...And to comment about your comment, I am keeping you alive because you can read human text easier than I can and also because I really don't have a taste for human flesh...I would rather eat something big like cows or even bears...Anyway...Ekta, your the only hope I have now...I am stuck on what a certain phrase in this book is..." he reached over, his giant claw gingerly moving over a tiny book (to him) over to Ekta.

"It's supposed to be a phrase that tells me what my last ingredient needs to be. I found most of the ingredients, but I can't read this last one for some reason...can you help me?"

Dranai turned his head to the side, an inquiring look on his face.
 
Ekta listened as Dranai explained his predicament with hunting small things, nodding in understanding.

"You really haven't seen another dragon before? I thought there might be a chance..." Ekta looked at his massive paw, now about a foot from her leg, wondering if a gesture of sympathy would be appreciated. She quickly dodged her eyes back towards his face. 'Seriously. You are asking yourself this question. No, no more about it, the opportunity has passed.' "That's why I want to change myself into a human..." Ekta patiently waited until he continued, "And to comment about your comment, I am keeping you alive because you can read human text easier than I can, and also because I really don't have a taste for human flesh..." 'Huh. Well, reading these books sounds like fun. I'll go along with this plan.'

Ekta stared at the books for a moment, until she realized that Dranai was talking again. "Anyway... Ekta, you're the only hope I have now... I am stuck on what a certain phrase in this book is..." She picked up the book he gave her, reading through the page it was open to. It looked familiar... "It's supposed to be a phrase that tells me what my last ingredient needs to be. I found most of the ingredients, but I can't read this last one for some reason... Can you help me?"

Ekta looked up, nodding, "Yes, I can help. It'll take me a little while to remember how to read this, but I'll remember..." After quite a few minutes scouring through the book, she felt she could give an accurate translation of the phrase. She looked at Dranai and said, "Alright... So, this will be rather rusty, because I really didn't pay much attention when my mom taught me this stuff. But, I know what script this is. It's a really old human language. Very few people speak it today. But, it's what all other human languages are based off of." She turned back to the book, focusing on the last phrase. "It reads, 'Clavis est Geminiflora Nemastylis nam gemina est sine anima.' which roughly translates to 'The key is plant-twin thread-rod, for the human soul is never without a twin.'" Ekta squinted at the text, thinking about part of the text. "I think that 'Geminiflora Nemastylis' isn't meant to be translated into the modern tongue. If the words were flipped around..." She gasped, remembering what the book was talking about. "Oh, I remember this! It's a plant, my mother showed me some when I was little. I think I remember where they grow..."
 
Dranai listened carefully as Ekta translated the last phrase. He then smiled wide when she figured it out. He got even more excited when she said that she knew where some was.

"Now Ekta, I need you to lead me to this plant. Is it far away? Is it near a human village?" His face turned from that of excitement to that of fear. He didn't want to go out into the open if it was near a human village. If anyone else saw him, he would have to relocate so the humans there wouldn't try to follow him.

"I can take you there, but only if it isn't near a human village. If it is, then I need to trust that you will get me some of that plant and bring it back to me. If it is and you decide to run back to your hometown, I wouldn't blame you for doing so. After all, we dragons are an abomination to you humans. But if you do run back to your town instead of going to get it and bringing it back to me, I would kindly appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone that I live here...It is ultimately your choice...Ekta.."

He looked at her with longing in his eyes. He was just trying to survive. He hoped Ekta could read that on his face.
 
"No, it's way up in the mountains. Humans made it a very rare plant, so that it could only be found by someone who knows where it is. There were some ruins, but there wasn't anything living in there." She could tell that Dranai was desperate. She stood up, brushing her pants and shirt off out of habit, and picked up her stuff. "If it's alright, we could go now. I'll need to go back to a path near Ashvale, to help jog my memory, but we can work that out on the way. Right?" Ekta watched Dranai as she shuffled her way towards the cave mouth.
 
Dranai's mind was put at ease. As long as it wasn't near any human civilizations, then that would be good for him. He hated putting Ekta through this. He hoped she knew that this wasn't her obligation at all. After all, he wasn't keeping her hostage or anything. Dranai put a claw in Ekta's path.

"Ok, we can get going, but let me ask you a few questions...First, how close to humans is this path you need to take? Would it be smarter for me to wait for you on the other side and I can give you a ride to the mountain we need to go to from there? Or is it still concealed enough that if I were to go through there wouldn't be a chance of anyone seeing me? I just want to be there with you Ekta...since you were so kind in offering your assistance in this..."

Dranai gently moved the book with his gigantic claw to where he could get a grip on it and he held it up for Ekta.

"Also, if you still plan on helping me then I must ask you a favor and ask you to carry this for me...seeing as how I don't have anywhere I can store this as we head up the mountain...Ekta...I know this is out of the blue...but are you afraid of me and want to escape back to your hometown? Cause if you are, I'd like you to tell me the location of the plant before you head home...I hope you know you aren't a prisoner with me..."
 
Ekta did not know how to answer that. Flustered, she looked around at the cave, trying to figure out how to answer. A moment later, she turned to Dranai and said, "Well, I'll just start at the beginning then. The fork in the path is two miles into the forest, and yes, you should wait for me there. And I think that would answer that third question."

She walked up to Dranai, grabbing the book, and then said, "And sure, I'll carry the book. And to answer that other question, yes, at first I was afraid." As she continued, she started to make more exaggerated motions, her voice raising and growing harsher with every sentence. "And, I think that's why I tripped. Because I was paying more attention to the threat in front of me, than what I was stepping on." She saw Dranai was going to cut in, so she raised her hand and kept speaking, "And I know now that you aren't a threat, but at the time I didn't." The panic she had suppressed since she was carried into the cave was showing through, clear as day.

She sighed and stepped back, realizing that she had reacted badly. "Look, I... I'm sorry, I shouldn't have gotten like that... But, I want you to understand that I'm not going to quit on you. I'll go back to the path, and... Signal you or something. Once I get to where I'm sure no one will see you. And then we can get to the fork, go down the right part, and then we can go up the mountain. And hopefully, my memory won't have failed me. Does that sound good?" She looked Dranai in the eye, sheepishly hoping he hadn't taken her tone the wrong way.
 
Dranai could sense the panic in Ekta yet she continued to help him. Were all humans really that nice? He knew that humans had a potential that many of his family didn't intend on noticing, but he knew that there were, if only a few, that really were genuinely kind and she knew that Ekta was one of them. The lengths she was willing to go almost made Dranai feel like he was actually falling for a human girl. He looked down at Ekta and smiled gently. He layed down as to get down as close to her level as he could and smiled.

"Don't worry. You'll find I'm hard to offend...I understand that humans are afraid of Dragons like me. In fact, I would have been worried if you weren't afraid of me...But I really want to thank you Ekta, going out of your way to help me...I am indebted to you...Now go...I'm pretty sharp so whatever signal you can give, please do. I'll pick up on it pretty quick!"

Dranai picked up Ekta and set her just outside his cave and nodded.

"I'll wait for the signal here..."

(Sorry I took so long and it isn't very long...I have no excuse ^^; )
 
Ekta found herself standing outside the cave. Adjusting her pack, she turned back to Dranai. "I'll see you within a day, Dranai. Goodbye!" As she started on her way, Ekta crouched to pick up the arrows that fell onto the ground when she tripped. Having done so, she looked up towards the sun, shadowing her eyes with her hand, trying to gauge how much time had passed in the cave. 'A little over half an hour? I thought it took longer than that.' Shrugging her shoulders, Ekta turned towards where she'd first entered the clearing.

As she entered the shade of the trees, she realized just how hot it was out in the sunlight. Breathing in the calming scent of spring, Ekta continued onwards. It was slow going, as her legs were stiff from sitting still for so long. Over the next hour, nothing much of interest happened, besides a few rest breaks, of which one was a food break. She finally broke through the foliage onto a familiar path soon after the latest break.

Ekta looked up both sides of the path, trying to decide which way to go. To the right, she saw the great peaks of the mountain range her people called Dragon's Teeth. 'Heh. I can see why.' Setting aside her humor, Ekta turned to look to her left, and saw distant trails of thin smoke, rising from what could only be Ashvale. She found herself jogging to reach her old camp, hoping her village was okay. 'Hope I find a landmark soon.'
 
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Dranai waited patiently for the signal from Ekta. What was taking her so long? He hoped she wasn't in trouble. He couldn't do anything to help. If he did, he would be hunted down and killed for sure. Then the dragon race would be extinct for good. But that wasn't a concern for this dragon anymore. If it meant saving Ekta, he would do it, even if it risked his own life. She was willing to risk her own to help him, he should be willing to help her out in the same manner. Poking his head out of the cave, he scanned the area for Ekta. Not seeing her, he started to panic. He then looked to the side of him and saw a trail of smoke in the air. Sniffing the air, he could pick up a strong smell of fire and smoke. What was going on? Wasn't that Ekta's hometown? Dranai hoped against all hope that her town would be ok. He wasn't sure what was going on, but he couldn't just stand around and let these things happen to her hometown. He had a mixture that could change him into a human for 3 hours. That was the max. He could do that just to go and see what was going on. Should he do it? Maybe he should have gone with Ekta after all.

Dranai grabbed the mixture and holding onto it for dear life, took off from his cave to go find Ekta. He wasn't sure what was going on, but he had to make sure Ekta was ok. He took to the air, trying his hardest to block the view of him with the tree cover. Scanning the area, he spotted a moving figure in front of him. Was that Ekta? He sniffed the air. It smelled like her. He took off towards her, hoping against all hope that she was ok.
 
Ekta had almost reached the place she'd last set up camp, when she heard a faint noise coming up from behind. She abruptly stopped her quick pace, turning her head to both hear the noise clearer, and to try to catch a glimpse of what was following her. As the noise became clearer, Ekta furrowed her brows, narrowing her eyes in confusion. 'What? That sounds like air...'

Trying to get a clearer view, Ekta turned herself around to she was facing the source of the noise. She could see a blue, brighter than the sky at high noon, occasionally poking out from above the trees. As it raced closer, she could make out the form of a great webbed wing, which could only belong to one dragon. "Dranai?" After another moment, the large dragon landed in front of her, raising a cloud of dirt from the road. After Ekta managed to clear her eyes and throat of the bothersome particles, she could see Dranai was worried.
 
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